The Ninth Snowflake

To avoid alarming anyone, Shen Qiancheng eyed the wall that stood less than two meters tall. For someone who had taken relevant courses at Qiwu, scaling it was hardly a challenge.

Without a moment's hesitation, she pushed off the wall, scrambled up in two swift steps, bent down to retrieve the supplements, and leaped. The wind whistled past as she landed soundly on the other side with a soft rustle.

The sound of shattering glass had ceased; the entire courtyard was so quiet it felt as if a ghost might leap out at any second to confront her face-to-face.

Shen Qiancheng frowned. This was wrong. The mere prospect of Liao Xue going to school shouldn't have driven anyone to break a window in agitation.

As the wind cleared her head, a realization began to crystallize.

How could someone who had abused you for over a decade suddenly change their attitude overnight and start treating you kindly?

Take Shi Jianren, for instance. Back in May, when she had caused a death at Qiwu, he would typically have seized the opportunity to ship her off to juvenile detention, out of sight and out of mind.

But instead, Shi Jianren had done a complete one-eighty—not only clearing her name but also transferring her to the city's top high school.

Yet what followed was being forced to marry that bastard Su Zeye...

And now... Liao Xue...

Shen Qiancheng's brow furrowed deeper, her striking features veiled with a mist of worry, a flash of chilling malice glinting in her eyes.

Liao Xue had once said it was too late—she had naively assumed it meant too late to repay the money. Now, clearly, there was a deeper meaning.

The courtyard was square, surrounded by several rooms. Except for the side facing the gate, which was dark, all the others had their lights on.

When she'd come to hire Liao Xue as her assistant, and Liao's mother had packed Liao Xue's things, she remembered it was the room on the north side.

Crouching like a thief, Shen Qiancheng crept beneath Liao Xue's window and peered inside. Sure enough, this was the room, its windowpanes shattered.

The jagged-edged window let out a dim, yellow light. Liao Xue sat alone on the edge of the bed, while Mother Liao sat by the table, which was strewn with water stains. Mother Liao rested her arm on the table, a solid gold bracelet around her wrist.

A gold bracelet?

Shen Qiancheng narrowed her eyes. She hadn't noticed any gold bracelet when she saw Mother Liao earlier that evening.

Mother Liao's chest heaved as if she'd just finished a rousing speech at a beer hall, too agitated to calm down.

"Don't be difficult! Don't stay silent and make it look like I'm abusing you. I'll take your silence as agreement. August 4th is Qixi—I'll marry you off in style!"

Liao Xue gave no reaction, as if she were a wooden puppet stripped of her soul, sitting obediently on the bed, never uttering a word.

Shen Qiancheng, eavesdropping by the window, was inwardly shocked.

Liao Xue was going to be married?!

So the "great news" wasn't about school—it was about marrying off the barely-adult Liao Xue!

The shock rivaled the end of the world; had the world truly been ending, Shen Qiancheng might have clapped with interest. But hearing that Liao Xue was to be married, she found no trace of a smile.

Liao Xue, married? How could those two words even fit together?

If Liao Xue were married, Shi Jianren couldn't very well marry off a divorced Liao Xue to that bastard Su Zeye, right?

But...

Liao Xue, you shouldn't marry anyone.

Inside, Mother Liao's voice was shrill and coaxing.

"Once you marry into that family, you won't have to lift a finger. All you'll do is mind the shop and sip tea—where else will you find such an easy life? And if you give him a son, his mother promised at least this much."

Mother Liao held up three fingers, her expression exaggerated. "Thirty thousand! That's thirty thousand! In all my years of hard work, I've never seen that much money, and it would all be yours."

Shen Qiancheng silently scoffed: I could give three million.

Mother Liao's one-sided tirade was drawing to a close. Liao Xue remained silent, her frail frame—already thin—now seeming to merge pitifully with the wall after being subjected to Mother Liao's barrage.

Shen Qiancheng's heart burned and ached. She had a wild urge to burst in, grab Mother Liao by the collar, and shout back a hundred times louder.

"Marry, my ass! If you want to marry, you go! Can't you see Liao Xue doesn't want to?"

But in reality, Shen Qiancheng had no standing to interfere. As Liao Xue's creditor, shouldn't she be pleased? If Liao Xue married, there'd be a bride price to repay the debt.

Shen Qiancheng didn't know what she was thinking. She simply didn't want Liao Xue to marry.

For the first time, when faced with something that displeased her, her first reaction was hesitation rather than charging in without a second thought.

Mother Liao hurled one final line: "Think it over yourself."

With that, she got up and left, taking her gold bracelet with her. Seizing the opportunity, Shen Qiancheng slipped through the window into the room.

The moment she entered, she heard a faint, choked sob—like crying, but muffled beneath suppressed breath.

Liao Xue was crying?

Shen Qiancheng felt both pity and frustration. Crying was useless; Liao Xue ought to slap Mother Liao twice.

"Hey, Liao Xue," Shen Qiancheng said, her tone clipped. "So you're getting married—no wonder you turned down being my assistant. As your former employer, I'll be sure to give you a big red envelope."

The silent Liao Xue jerked her head up at the sudden voice, the back of her skull inevitably knocking against the wall behind her. The instant she saw Shen Qiancheng's face, her eyes reddened, tears trembling on the brink.

"Shen... Shen zong."

The cry was like a kitten's mew, piercing straight to Shen Qiancheng's eardrums, scratching at her heart.

Shen Qiancheng immediately regretted speaking so harshly. How could Liao Xue bear it?

"Oh, all right, don't cry. If you don't want to marry, why not fight back? You should've cursed her out to her face." Shen Qiancheng softened her tone, longing to wrap Liao Xue in her arms and stop her tears.

Tears slid down Liao Xue's cheeks, falling onto Shen Qiancheng's arm, burning in the cool midsummer breeze and startling her.

Liao Xue's voice was thick with nasal congestion, full of grievance. "He's a cripple, and he's beaten three wives to death. I don't want to marry him. I want to go to school. I still want to take the college entrance exam."

Crack—

The cup in Shen Qiancheng's hand shattered. Even Su Zeye paled in comparison—was this the kind of man Mother Liao had fished out of the trash?

Liao Xue flinched, her uneasy eyes darting nervously toward Shen Qiancheng.

Shen Qiancheng dropped the glass shards from her hand, wanting to pat Liao Xue's head, but seeing her own wet palm, she withdrew.

"Don't worry. I swear I won't let you marry him!" Shen Qiancheng vowed solemnly.

Liao Xue looked at the beautiful girl before her, warmth spreading through her heart, a profound sense of safety filling her chest. Why could she so easily release the emotions she'd suppressed under Mother Liao's tyranny—right in front of Shen Qiancheng?

Perhaps... Shen Qiancheng was an angel sent by heaven to save her. Perhaps... Shen Qiancheng was the brightest light after the darkness of her first eighteen years.

Liao Xue nodded solemnly, a determined smile breaking through.

Liao Xue rarely smiled; most of the time, she pressed her lips together, looking aggrieved and timid. But at this moment, her smile was simple and heartwarming. Shen Qiancheng found herself smiling too.

Outside the window, the moon hung high, and a cool breeze tumbled gently.

It was getting late. Shen Qiancheng couldn't stay the night in Liao Xue's room. She set the supplements down and turned to leave.

"I'll be going now. I promise—tomorrow you'll hear some wonderful news."

Shen Qiancheng patted her chest, brimming with confidence.

Liao Xue trusted Shen Qiancheng above all else. If Shen Qiancheng said the earth was square, Liao Xue would believe it. Smiling, she saw Shen Qiancheng to the broken window.

Shen Qiancheng paused to remind her, "Those supplements are only for you. Your mom and brother aren't allowed to touch them, got it?"

Liao Xue raised an eyebrow. "Aren't those for you, Shen zong?"

Shen Qiancheng bristled and shot back, "You ungrateful thing! If you hadn't refused to let me buy them for you, would I have had to pretend they were for myself?"

With that, she tapped Liao Xue on the head.

Liao Xue stood at the window, watching the graceful figure vault over the wall with neat agility. Part of her heart felt hollow, yet another part felt fuller than ever.

Liao Xue drew the curtains to block some of the wind, preparing to go to bed, when she heard Mother Liao's dragging footsteps grinding harshly against the floor.

The door burst open, and Mother Liao's eyes fell upon the pile of supplements scattered across the floor.

Wide-eyed, she demanded, "Where did all this come from?"

Suddenly, Shen Qiancheng's words echoed in Liao Xue's mind: "Why not fight back!"

"The rats... brought them..."

Mother Liao knew quality—these were the dead-expensive goods that sat in display cases all year, never selling.

From the village chief, she'd gathered a hint of what Liao Xue had done that day: gone to town with Shen Qiancheng, the girl from the big city. Surely she'd received some handout?

Even though Mother Liao had been duped by Shen Qiancheng before, the bond between Liao Xue and Shen Qiancheng was certainly no ordinary one.

So these supplements had slipped through Shen Qiancheng's fingers, casually given to Liao Xue.

Mother Liao's brows shot up. "You little wretch! You've learned to hoard good things in secret! I'll take them all—don't you dare think about them!"

She gathered every box into her arms, her greedy expression like a bandit king descending the mountain to loot.

Liao Xue scrambled off the bed to stop her but was shoved aside, sprawling to the floor.

"These are for me, from Shen zong alone!" Liao Xue cried.

Mother Liao retorted, "What's yours is mine! I carried you for ten months, so what's yours is mine. You ungrateful brat—you don't even think to honor your parents with good things. Your little brother's never had anything this nice."

The moment she was pushed, Liao Xue remembered her injured leg; in a panic, she rolled aside just in time to avoid landing on the fresh cast.

Mother Liao, triumphant after her raid, opened the door cheerfully and finally revealed the real reason she'd come: "Get to bed now! Do you think electricity's free?"

Snick—

She flicked the switch by the door, plunging the room into dead, silent darkness.

Liao Xue silently groped her way to the bed. Just as she lay down, her stomach churned violently...

The village chief's wife followed behind her husband, gazing at the high moon, and complained, "Why isn't she back yet? Did she really run off on her own?"

The village chief, a cigarette dangling from his lips, exhaled smoke, his weathered face creased with worry. "I don't know. She should've come back—her house isn't far from ours."

At the mention of Liao Xue, the village chief's wife whispered mysteriously, "Tsk, tsk, you wouldn't understand. Since you're not a woman, you don't know how women's friendships work. When they finally meet up, they've got endless things to talk about. Just wait."

The village chief conceded, his cigarette burned down to the butt just as a figure appeared at the gate.

He squinted—it was Shen Qiancheng, her steps lively, humming a tune.

The village chief's wife's eyes lit up. She patted her husband's arm and sighed, "Looks like they made up, she's so happy."

Shen Qiancheng stepped inside, but the moment she saw the two of them—especially the wife's gossip-hungry face—her smile vanished. She said irritably, "Why are you two still standing here? Don't old folks need sleep?"

The village chief was secretly amused, but his wife dragged him away in a huff.

"Hold on, village chief," Shen Qiancheng called out. "What's this about Liao Xue dropping out?"

The village chief halted. Shen Qiancheng continued, "Last time Liao Xue mentioned wanting to go to school, I remember you saying she couldn't. What's that about?"

The village chief lit another cigarette, scratched his head, and said, "It's a long story. Let's go inside and talk."